AXA APPOINTS NEW INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS

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SINGAPORE - Insurance giant AXA has appointed prominent Singapore lawyer Lee Suet-Fern (picture) to its board as an independent director.

The move is part of AXA's plans to improve corporate governance.

In October last year, AXA proposed a number of changes to its governance regime, which included the creation of a single board of directors to replace its dual board structure.

When contacted by MediaCorp, Mrs Lee said, "The appointment is a recognition of the growing importance and influence of Singapore in the world, an Asian voice with an understanding of Asia that the West trusts. It is a huge honour for Singapore."

AXA is one of the largest companies in the Fortune 500 list. No Singapore company, even those with the largest market capitalisation such as SingTel and Singapore Airlines, has ever made it to the Fortune 500 list.

AXA also owns possibly the largest publicly-traded asset manager, Alliance Berstein, which is listed in New York.

Mrs Lee is currently Senior Director of Stamford Law Corporation (Singapore).

According to AXA's website, Mrs Lee is one of two new independent directors appointed to the board. The company has 15 directors, of whom 11 are independent.

The new appointments are subject to shareholder approval. Millet Enriquez

From TODAY, Monday, 22-Feb-2010

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Cashing in on ‘green’

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GREENLABEL CERTIFICATION

SEC combing for errant marketers using label

Lin Yan Qin, yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg

HOPING to catch the attention of eco-conscious shoppers, more products are getting themselves “green” certified, but consumers should make sure that they are indeed getting the genuine things.

Two brands of washing detergent were found to have misled consumers by displaying the Singapore Environment Council’s (SEC) GreenLabel certification on their products although they were not certified, according to a survey by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) and the SEC.

One case - involving Power Plus Anti-Bacterial clothing detergent by CMM Marketing - was found to be due to a miscommunication within the company.

But the second - Spank Floor Cleaning solution marketed by Lifestyle Integral - was the type of indiscriminate use of the label that the SEC and Case were concerned about, said council project manager Yatin Premchand. “The GreenLabel has grown to have more cache with consumers ... so some companies see it as a lucrative marketing tool to be part of that (certified) group,” said Mr Premchand.

With “thousands” of products now bearing the GreenLabel - a voluntary accreditation for environmentally-friendly products - it was natural that a small number hoping to cash in would turn up too, he said.

The council and Case surveyed 38 brands from February to March to check for misuse of the label, as well as check if certified products were displaying the label correctly. Both SEC and Case were satisfied that 95 per cent of the brands surveyed were found to be genuine.

“We have been doing (audits) on our own to check for any misuse of our certification, and will continue to do so for other product categories in future,” said Mr Premchand.

SEC also relies on industry partners and consumers to provide feedback.

“They are active in protecting their brand, and they report to us any cases they pick up,” said Mr Premchand.

Meanwhile, consumers should take note that the Spank product has not been certified, as SEC has been unable to track down the company at its listed address to have the company remove the labels.

CMM Marketing will pull all its Power Plus Anti-Bacterial clothing detergent bearing the GreenLabel from the shelves by Monday, and is considering submitting an application for GreenLabel certification, said Mr Premchand.

The company had apparently applied the GreenLabel to its product thinking it had applied for the certification when it had not, due to an internal error.

Neither company could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Beyond looking for errant marketers, SEC will also continue to educate companies on the benefits of being certified and also getting the certification right - eight brands were found to have displayed the labelling incorrectly, though the products were certified.

From TODAY, News – Friday, 12-Jun-2009

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CEO 101

How do you approach the issue of employees’ external appointments and activities?

Mr Dennis Choo, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Premiere Global Services

Employees are one of the biggest assets a company can have — therefore, it is vital that they feel a sense of appreciation from the organisation. I strongly believe that it all boils down to flexibility and understanding from both parties. Employees who align and engage themselves with a company’s vision, mission and values will often give more of themselves to achieve specific goals. For the relationship to continue to evolve, it is important that staff feel that their employers afford similar flexibility should they periodically need to take time out of their working day to attend external appointments or activities.

From TODAYOnline.com, Business – Monday, 25-May-2009; see the source article here.

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Why a ‘blood transfusion’ may not work

The other day, we had our communication session, and I was having a small discussion with one of our teammates, and how some of the management decisions seemed inconsistent with the drive to reduce cost, especially during these hard times. And that is exactly what this article is discussing: retrenching 'experienced' workers, then hiring new blood… may not be warm blood after all, and even then, may not be warm enough to bring about the heat to induce the much-needed energy to propel changes – for the better.

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IT MAY be a time-tested policy, but the "blood transfusion" approach — retrenching workers during a downturn and hiring new ones when the good times return — may not be in the company's best interests these days.

Instead, companies should look at ways to manage costs and retain existing manpower, said labour chief Lim Swee Say.

"The blood transfusion method means that at the company level, you're going to lose a lot of experience, a lot of skill and time... it takes time to hire and retrain new workers. And if you're in a knowledge-based economy, the time needed to retrain new entrants will be much longer compared to a labour-intensive operation. It's better to upgrade and restructure with your existing workforce," said Mr Lim.

Companies restructuring operations should focus on reskilling, upskilling and multi-skilling existing workers while keeping their wage costs down, he added. This would lead to a win-win situation for workers, companies and Singapore's economy.

    The seminar also saw human resource experts offering some tips on how to manage employees during a downturn. CHANNEL

NEWSASIA, 938LIVE

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From TODAY, News – Thursday, 07-May-2009

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